Carrie Reynolds wears many hats. Not literally, (in fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen her wear a hat other than the occasional baseball cap), but she is one of those people who manage to do more than most. This makes interviewing her both a pleasure and a challenge. Do we talk about her successful marketing consulting business, Reynolds Design Group? Do we talk about her charitable endeavors? Or “The 10 Boys Who Care”, a philanthropic group she started with her son, Sam, and some of his Thurston classmates? Then there’s Lagunatics and her “Nollaig Na Mna” event she hosts every year. Where does one begin?

Carrie Reynolds, owner of Reynolds Design Group

Going all the way to the coast

Let’s begin 25 years ago when Carrie and her husband, Mike, moved to Laguna from Laguna Hills. Back then she was driving to LA everyday for work and Corona del Mar was “too expensive. Mike said he didn’t move all the way from Illinois to stop five miles from the ocean. So we got married and closed escrow on a teardown the next day, but we didn’t tear it down.” Eventually, they rebuilt their falling down cottage into an award winning home – designed by Mike – which they still live in today.

After commuting for two years, Reynolds was hired by Pepsi Co. in Irvine where she worked for eight years on the restaurant side. Realizing corporate life wasn’t for her (“I said if I’m still here when I’m 35, shoot me.”) she thought she’d start her own consulting firm. But then she got cold feet.

“Prudential Real Estate offered me their VP of Marketing position. I took it out of fear.” Working there for a year helped her conquer her fear. “Prudential is an insurance company. They’re very staid, very follow the rules. That wasn’t for me either.” So Reynolds Design Group was born.

Taking advantage of new technology

“When I started the Internet was exploding. I started doing consumer research online and this changed the research model. I can do it out of my house, there’s lower overhead for me, which is good for my clients.” A key opportunity was when Reynolds was asked by Apple to do a segmentation study that would tell them who actually shopped in their then four stores. Finding this information so valuable, Apple incorporated it into their next ad campaign. It was a good start for Reynolds’ fledgling business, now in its 18th year.

A graduate of UC Davis, Reynolds says she has always worked. “My parents had nothing. I never knew anything else. When I went to Davis I worked during the year and then I’d come home and pack pears in the summer.” It was a very different life than the one her only child, Sam, enjoys. “I’m sure we’re ruining him,” she says with mock conviction. “But we haven’t seen this movie yet.”

A challenging baseball season offers an opportunity

Though the movie is far from over, Reynolds, like any good director, is doing what she can to make sure it has a fulfilling ending. With Sam’s baseball team slogging their way through a 2 and 12 season, Reynolds came up with an idea.

“During the baseball season we were so impressed with the kids’ attitudes. We were getting all depressed as moms, right? But they really were showing strength of character.” This fact, coupled with Jon Madison offering up some of his unsold Christmas items for charity, as well as hearing about her friends, Kendall and Chris Clark, and their scholarship to LBHS students converged into the idea for “10 Boys Who Care.”

10 Boys is a group of, yes, ten Thurston Middle School boys, who raise money throughout the year to provide scholarships to LBHS seniors who exhibit excellent sportsmanship. The group has officers, takes minutes – everything an “official” non-profit does to run smoothly.

“I wanted it to mean more. I want them to be doing it for more than just the service credits. Now people come up to them and ask for help. It’s great. They made $400 busking at hospitality night! The town’s generous. Last year the boys gave $3,500 worth of scholarships with the money they raised. They read every one of the 30 essays they received, discussed them and made their decisions. And they can almost run meetings by themselves,” she says with pride.

Reynolds’ philanthropy does not end with 10 Boys. She has her own causes she gives her time and talent to. She was on the Board of the Boys and Girls Club for five years, has been a SchoolPower trustee since Sam was in kindergarten, she sits on the Orangewood Foundation’s marketing committee, sits on Thurston’s PTA Site Council and is involved in the PTA’s parent education series, Coffee Break. All this while somehow cranking out a 40-hour workweek.

Conquering fears and finding a family in Lagunatics

As if this isn’t enough, Reynolds finds time to perform with Lagunatics, something she has done for the last eight years. “Every year I ask Bree (Rosen, the Lagunatics founder) to fire me,” she says with a laugh. “I did it originally because the thought of it made me so uncomfortable – like the Aquathon. But now I’ve gotten over that part of it. And it has introduced me to a community of people in town that I would never know otherwise. The family is interesting. We get close.” As for the Aquathon, she did that to overcome her fear of swimming in the ocean. “I’m not saying I’ll swim out to the buoy by myself but…” Oh, well. She may have conquered her fear of performing, but that ocean thing is apparently still a work in progress.

Nollaig Na Mna hits Laguna

Something decidedly not a work in progress is Reynolds’ social media prowess. A fun way she has used it is to connect with her 62 first cousins in Ireland. There they have a tradition called “Nollaig Na Mna” (Christmas for the Women). The idea is that the men serve the women who use the time to connect, relax and make a wish on a three-legged stool. Reynolds and her sister thought this was a great tradition and imported it to their respective towns in California. While unsure how many Nollaig Na Mnas she has hosted with the help of Jon Madison at his Madison Square Garden and Café, it has become quite the event over the years.

“I love bringing an Irish tradition here that helps me tell my girlfriends how much they mean to me. It is a few hours of sharing stories, making personal wishes or declarations on our three legged stool and reminds us what having girlfriends means to us in our lives. I wish we had the chance to all do it a little more often.”

Recognizing a good idea, bringing meaning to it and then making it happen. This is how Christmas for the Women, Laguna Beach-style, came to be, and it’s also a good description of how Reynolds approaches her life.

And she does it with a wicked sense of humor. When I contacted her to set up our interview her response was typical Carrie, “What the heck is the topic? Crazed mother of an only child…or crazed wife?” Of course she left out crazy entrepreneur, crazy “renegade do-gooder” (her words) and crazy fear conqueror.

Maybe we should all be so crazy.

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A Reynolds Family Christmas Card

Ivan Spiers: The man behind peri-peri and apparel

Story by MAGGI HENRIKSON

Photos by Mary Hurlbut

He may not always enjoy the fact, but Ivan Spiers manages to shake things up.

This week he was a little emotionally bruised after yet another City Council meeting having to do with parking at his iconic restaurant and music venue, Mozambique.

“I want to be a good neighbor. I want to help everybody,” he says. “I just don’t want to be micro-managed. I don’t need this aggravation.”

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In the 10 years of operating Mozambique there have been great times, like the many charity events Spiers hosts there, and the amazing musical talent he has drawn to their first class performing and recording space.

But there have been miserable times, too, like when the economy tanked in 2008. “Then the world fell apart,” said Spiers.

His main source of income, the apparel industry, suffered disastrous times, and the restaurant business changed suddenly for the worse as well. “Every business was impacted. It’s still impacted. Our restaurant business went down 60 percent overnight.”

But he put his heart and mind into it, and used some creative thinking to stay in business. “Mozambique was a more formal restaurant until then. We had to re-work the menu, and make it affordable for everybody,” he said. “We stuck with it, and never laid anybody off.”

Mozambique is a big employer in town, and that became the main issue with parking problems most recently. The restaurant staff had been parking on side streets, which bothers some of the neighbors. It was agreed that the employees will now be shuttled from off-site leased parking sites to their jobs at the restaurant.

While we talked about some of these challenging situations, Spiers’ best buddy, Max, helped him to keep his calm. Max is one gentle giant of a dog, who also happens to be a 110-pound therapy dog. His day job is to visit hospitals and VA centers where he brings his sweet charm and calming influence. Spiers has raised him since he was a puppy – surprisingly once the runt of the litter.

Max nudged his hand, asking for more fluffing and scratching of those enormous ears.

“I bought this building by accident,” Spiers continued. The former Tortilla Flats building had been vacant for years when he drove by almost 13 years ago. “I came to the auction, and thought it would be a good idea to open a restaurant.” Little did he know it would take two and a half years to renovate. “It was falling down – a lot more than we thought,” he said. “It was just a garbage pile.”

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Now it is one of the most popular places in Orange County to see live music, or enjoy great food spiced with their famous peri-peri sauce, and gaze out on the ocean toward the Laguna sunset.

Roots

One side of the man has the giant persona of an international business magnate, and on the other is Spiers’ quiet, kind demeanor. His polite South African nature is always the undercurrent.

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He grew up in a small town that defies spelling much less pronunciation. Umhlatazana was about an hour and a half from the nearest city, and his parents ran a trading store, selling whatever was needed. “From plows to clothes, to food,” said Spiers. “You name it, we sold it.”

The community was small and multi-racial – and everyone got along. Once roads and bridges were constructed enough to travel quickly to the city, the family moved to Durban. Ivan was 13, and heard for the first time the word “apartheid”.

Living in Durban, he witnessed enforcement by the government to a racially segregate society. Ivan knew he had to get out as soon as he could.

He moved to London when he was 19 and found a job with EMI, the music recording and publishing company. It seems obvious now in hindsight that music would play an integral role in Spiers’ life. But, of course, his father and the government of South Africa had other plans for him.

His father wanted him to be a banker. The idea was to join his banker uncle who lived in Hong Kong. The government’s rule was that first he’d have to serve two years in the army.

Spiers did all that, but only lasted four days as a Hong Kong banker. “It was terrible,” said Ivan, simply. “You’re making a big mistake,” said his father.

But at 21 Ivan Spiers was still too young for the stuffy life of a banker. He wanted to play rugby and surf.

So he went to Australia and did just that until a rugby accident landed him in the hospital. The injuries to his ribs, and a broken spine still plague him today.

Once recovered and back on a surfboard, Spiers met his California connections. They were a bunch of young guys, all good friends, surfing in the Canary Islands. One of them had a family ranch in Monterey and said, “Come to Monterey, we’ll get you some work.”

That was in 1972, and consequently Spiers has added lettuce picker to his resume.

At that time the economy was booming, gas was 40 cents a gallon, and you could buy a decent car for $500. Picking lettuce was very good money – about $400 a week, but hard work. “The first two weeks almost killed me,” said Spiers. Then he learned from the guys who’ve done it for years how to do the lifting. Just like music, it turns out it’s about rhythm.

Growing a business

It was in Monterey that Spiers began his huge career in the apparel industry. Out by the airport there was a sweater and sport coat factory. Ivan got to know the owners and began buying goods from them and selling.

By the early 1990’s Spiers had amassed 29 large retail stores, and had his own family. He has three children; twin daughters now living in Austin, and a son now living in New York.

“In 1992 I thought I was retired,” he said. But the financial reality of life post-divorce meant he would keep his nose to the grindstone.

Thanks to many friends in the area, Spiers moved from Monterey to Laguna. He continued to flourish in the apparel business to the point where he is now known as an industry veteran. He has helped launch brands with financing, and he’s created manufacturing, warehousing and distribution networks worldwide for everything from clothes to shoes to sunglasses.

Though Laguna is home base, Spiers is global citizen. He’s in Sri Lanka, and much of Asia at least a few times a year, plus Panama, the UK, and Canada. This week he was closing the deal on a big merger that he was pretty mum about. “You’ll read about it,” he said, slyly.

He comes off as a behind-the-scenes guy, somehow maintaining his privacy despite his high profile. It’s that kind of humility that makes him approachable.

Music for the soul

When it comes to music, Spiers jumps in, hook, line and sinker. He appreciates everything about music, and plays the guitar as well. He’s been known to rock it on the Mozambique stage just for fun, with friends like Nick I, and Bob Hawkins.

This past October, Spiers opened Daryl’s House with rocker Daryl Hall, in Pawling, New York. It’s a restaurant and music venue that also broadcasts shows live on the Internet. “It’s been great,” Spiers said. “We’ve been so well received.”

During the live broadcasts there are about 80 people employed at Daryl’s House, and Spiers has been surprised at the support they’ve been given. “Governor Cuomo sent someone – in a suit – to see if they could help!” he said. “They want it to succeed and make sure we’re well taken care of.”

Daryl Hall will be playing there himself, on New Year’s Eve, and the show will be broadcast. His former partner, John Oates, will be performing at Mozambique on Feb 4. Spiers is keeping Hall and Oates rockin’ on both coasts.

At home in Laguna, Mozambique is like Spiers’ community gathering place. He has opened its doors to countless non-profits for their fundraising efforts. He has made friends with musicians, and even the neighbors.

“I try to help everybody,” he says.

And he does. It’s just in his nature.

Maggi Henrikson: Bringing her enthusiasm to StuNews

Story by SAMANTHA WASHER

Photos by Mary Hurlbut

Maggi Henrikson could not wait to be featured in Laguna Life & People. And if you believe that we should talk about some real estate deals involving the Brooklyn Bridge. Henrikson, Associate Editor of StuNews, is accustomed to asking the questions, not answering them, but she showed her commitment to the cause and made time during a busy holiday season to sit down and chat.

An auspicious start in journalism

Henrikson’s journalistic career had an auspicious start with “The Top Sail Tattler,” the neighborhood newspaper she created as a child in Connecticut. She wrote stories then would go door to door and sell them. After “mimeographing” the needed copies she’d hand deliver them to her paying customers.

Her journalism career took a rather lengthy hiatus after she ended her efforts with “The Tattler.” First there were things like middle school that needed to be completed followed by the rest of her schooling, college, an art career, marriage and a family. However, when she finally returned to her journalistic endeavors, she did so with her characteristic enthusiasm.

Maggi Henrikson, Associate Editor of StuNewsLaguna

Curiosity leads to StuNews

“I’ve always been creative: painting, drawing, making jewelry. I’ve even made lamps. Stu(News) fulfills a lot of that. I love words. I love to be stimulated in that way. When we decided to remodel our home that took two years. I was bereft when it was over. What was I going to do? ‘Stu’ came along at a good time,” says Henrikson about her growth at StuNews. It started out innocently enough.

“I was involved in the schools, PTA, water polo, all that kind of stuff. I started sending things to Stu about water polo and the Glennwood House. Stu liked what he saw and I started doing more…the photo quizzes; we started the dining section. It was organic. I guess it was meant to be. I’ve always been curious about all kinds of subjects,” explains Henrikson.

A plane ticket and a dozen roses

Another thing that was meant to be was her marriage to her husband, Richard. 26 years ago, he sent her a plane ticket and a dozen roses in hopes of enticing her to leave New York City, where she worked as an art consultant, for Laguna Beach.

“I lived on Martha’s Vineyard for seven years and I remember hoping the man I married would love it as much as I did.” He did, but his work was here and Henrikson was game to try something new. So she moved to Laguna with plans to continue her consulting career. After all, Laguna Beach is known for its art so she figured the transition would be easy.

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Maggi Henrikson and her family: sons Nick and Erik, Maggi and husband, Richard

From art consultant to stay at home mom

“I naively thought I could just pick up and continue doing what I was doing there, here, but the art scene was a little different than in New York,” she says with a laugh, “So I ended up driving to LA a lot, which was not great.” Luckily, a gallery called Sata Fine Art opened in Costa Mesa that was more her style. Owned by a wealthy Japanese businessman, Henrikson worked with him and the two made plans to create art tours at his French chateau. Unfortunately, the owner ran into financial problems and the tours – and gallery – were scrapped. Pregnant with her first child, Henrikson decided this was a good time to stay home and be a mom.

“I hate it when people say ‘just’ a stay at home mom. I really think we should be factored into the GDP,” she adds emphatically.

Immersed in family life

As a mother of two boys, Henrikson was fully immersed in the rhythms of her family. Her oldest son, Nick, has special needs and her other son, Erik, was a star goalie for the LBHS boys water polo team. Both required a lot of her attention and energy. Her efforts paid off as Nick is quite the town celebrity with his job at Ralph’s and Erik is playing water polo at Johns Hopkins University. With her boys grown, all of that energy had to go somewhere. Lucky for the readers of StuNews, Stu Saffer, founder of StuNews, knew a good thing when he saw it.

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Maggi Henrikson at home working her magic

Becoming an important asset to StuNews

“It has been fun having Maggi on board!” enthuses Saffer. “Her contributions have been amazing, especially when I think of where she began. In my wildest imagination, I never would have thought that she would have become such an important asset to us! Thank goodness Shaena [Stabler] saw Maggi’s talents!”

Henrikson is also somewhat surprised at how it has evolved. Agreeing to become associate editor about a year ago expanded Henrikson’s role at the newspaper. “I write stories, I edit other people’s stories and PR pieces. I do the photo quizzes and birthdays. People submit stuff and I’ll investigate and research. We just had the whole election season with an online discussion with our readers where we followed up on their questions to the prospective candidates.”

A lot goes into putting out a community newspaper twice a week. The old adage “the news never sleeps” means there is always something to add and do and create. Just managing her StuNews duties is a lot, but Henrikson has other interests she likes to indulge in, as well. Balancing her many interests was something she had to consider before accepting the associate editor position.

“I told Stu I was still going travel and all that and he said it was no problem.

It works out,” she says.

Making time for travel, tennis and other endeavors

Their travels take them all over, but the Henriksons have set up homes away from home, as well. They have had a house in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico for 16 years, as well as a 200-acre farm near Olympia, WA. Henrikson is also an avid tennis player. ”I love playing tennis. I will play it anywhere!” she says enthusiastically. “The reason we started going down to San Miguel de Allende is because it’s the art capitol of Mexico, but I could also bring my tennis racquets.

“We found a school for the boys where they could learn about the culture, the language and do field trips.” She told me that she’d driven there three times – a 34 hour drive – when her boys were young. A 34 hour car ride with young boys and dogs is not a journey for the faint of heart, which tells you a lot about Henrikson’s enthusiasm.

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Maggi and her dog, Banshee, on her lovely deck

And while all of this is definitely enough, Henrikson has ideas about new ways she wants to contribute to StuNews. “We are always talking about our passions. I love home design, architecture, food, travel. If I had the time I’d love to have a feature about the Laguna lifestyle: travel, real estate, living. Kind of like what they have in the Sunday Section of the New York Times.”

The only thing stopping her is the time to make it happen. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if this new section should appear in StuNews one of these days. Henrikson has a way of taking her interests, weaving them together and making them something more – a talent we, as readers, get to enjoy every time we click on StuNewsLaguna.

Kathy Conway has numbers and heart for art

By MAGGI HENRIKSON

Photos by Mary Hurlbut

And a one, and a two… Somehow, Kathy Conway must have that rhythm in her brain. She’s the other half of a dynamic accounting duo, and a huge part of the Laguna Dance Festival to boot.

Kathy Conway

What once might have been the isolated life of a number cruncher blossomed and multiplied two-fold when Kathy connected with her husband, Mike. And what once was a small, yet talented dance community has flourished into a world-class destination for dancers of every stripe to perform in Laguna Beach before a world-class audience of aficionados.

The Duo

Kathy and Mike have their own love story – and it involves numbers.

They first met back in the hippie 60’s. They became good friends, albeit with different spouses. Fast-forward a couple of decades, each was post-divorce, when one sunny Laguna day a friend said to Kathy, “Hey! Mike’s in town.”

That was in 1983. July 21, 1983, to be exact. “And we haven’t been apart since,” said Conway. In fact, they just celebrated their 35th anniversary on Christmas, just a few weeks ago.

Not only have they not been apart socially, they’ve also been connected professionally since then. Mike is a CPA, and Kathy a full-time accountant. For 30 years now, the accountants are known as Conway Financial Services, providing property management and financial consultation.

“We’re a 24/7 couple, and we do it very well, if I do say so,” said Kathy. “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be with.”

Aww, another number - 100% togetherness.

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Kathy and Mike, in their living room, where they meet with clients

Jointly, Kathy and Mike have four children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Their CPA firm includes many friends, local businesses and charitable organizations. The Conways enjoy living and working in their creatively remodeled historic cottage, which is filled with artworks by Laguna artists.

Yes, she’s a nut for the arts, and thankfully so. Laguna would not be a visionary art community without the time, attention, and assistance of people like Kathy Conway. Especially with regards to budget and finance, artists can use a little guidance. “Artists have a real need to have someone take care of that,” she says, knowingly.

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Amongst her many volunteer activities, Conway serves on committees at the Laguna Art Museum, the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce, and the Woman’s Club, as well as other non-profits, and as Treasurer for Music Matters, the Laguna Canyon Foundation, and the Laguna Dance Festival.

The Dance

Conway first saw Jodie Gates perform with the Joffrey Ballet in the 1990’s. She had the great good fortune of meeting her, and when she retired, guess where Gates wanted to come? That’s right, Laguna Beach.

Conway was there at the beginning with her friend, (former president of the Laguna Dance Festival) Janet Eggers. They were part of the think tank, hatching ideas for starting a dance festival with Gates.

The Laguna Dance Festival is near and dear to Kathy’s heart. It has been a success since the beginning in 2006, when performances were at the high school and other venues around town. It is now housed at the Laguna Playhouse with performances in September, and Master Classes offered at the LBHS Dance Studio.

The Festival draws the likes of dancers and dance companies from all over the world. One of their esteemed dancers, Desmond Richardson (“He’s just a glorious dancer – and specimen,” said Conway), did a Master Class last year that was sold out in ten minutes.

It’s art and it’s also numbers.

“It’s figuring out how to reach people. How to get more people to understand, and come,” Conway said. “I’m really excited with how well we’ve been received.”

The Days Off

When Conway is in normal form, she can often be found on the tennis court. Alas, she is still recovering after surgery following a nasty fall. But she and her new hip are just about to get back out there and call 40-Love.

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In addition to tennis, Kathy and Mike like to get away on two special occasions: birthdays and Valentine’s Day. For all their years together, they’ve escaped up the coast on those special dates to a secret hideaway in Big Sur. “Deetjen’s has been the best thing for us, for 30 years,” said Conway.

Now we know! It looks nice too; one part European glamour and one part bohemian lifestyle amongst the redwoods. But the Conway secret will be safe – we won’t visit Deetjen’s Inn on those dates.

Another Kathy Conway secret is that she loves to cook. Once that word gets out, people will be knocking on the door for her Louisiana Chicken recipe. Stay tuned, because she promised she’ll to give it to Stu News. Can’t wait!

Chip McDermott: Doing more than just showing up

By SAMANTHA WASHER

Photos by Mary Hurlbut

There is a long way between seeing a problem and deciding to do something about it. Many of us see things we don’t like, problems waiting for solutions, but we sigh, shake our heads and wait for someone else to fix it. Lucky for us, Chip McDermott, founder of Zero Trash, is not one of those people. Dismayed by the abundance of trash he saw on Laguna’s streets, he decided he might as well be the guy to do something about it. So he did – and still does on the first Saturday of every month.

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Chip McDermott, founder of Zero trash, in front of El Ranchito

The power of just showing up

For the past seven years McDermott has shown up at El Ranchito on S. Coast Hwy handing out T-shirts, bags and pickers to all who want to help him make Laguna a cleaner place. Married with two young kids, it’s not like McDermott doesn’t have a million other things he could be doing on a Saturday, but he knew when he started Zero Trash that if he didn’t show up on every first Saturday of the month, it would be impossible to build any momentum.

“You know how they say that most of success ‘is just showing up’? Well, that’s true. So I made a point to show up every week, rain or shine.”

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Zero Trash has a lot of local company support

From intern to entertainment executive

Showing up may be part of his success, but it certainly isn’t all of it. That’s why this former voice major who studied to become a conductor, parlayed an unpaid internship into a five-year dream job at E! Entertainment TV. Of course, going from intern to executive was no easy feat, but neither was getting the internship to begin with.

“I decided I wanted to work in the entertainment industry in either music or film. Somebody told me you could get an internship to get started. I was working at Nordstrom and a lot of entertainment people came into that store and so I just started asking every customer.” So, yes, “showing up” is critical, but a lot of people showed up to work every day at Nordstrom; only one became E’s first music talent executive.

Leaving LA for Seattle and landing in Laguna

After those five years, McDermott began to tire of Los Angeles and the entertainment industry lifestyle. “A buddy from high school was collecting data for film studios and asked me if I wanted to join him. Eventually, I said yes. I went to Seattle, we opened one office with, like, eight people, and now we’re in 23 states with 400 employees. I’ve been with my business partner longer than my wife. He’s just an amazing partner. ”

After 10 years in Seattle, McDermott decided he needed some sun so he and his wife started looking for places to live in southern California. “I grew up in Orange. We always came to Laguna Beach. I felt then that if I was ever fortunate enough to pick where I could raise my family it would be at the beach.” They first looked at Topanga, but ultimately chose Laguna. And we are all lucky they made that choice or our streets and beaches would be a lot less clean.

“I couldn’t believe Laguna had become this tourist town with trash,” he remembers thinking with dismay.

Chip McDermott at a Zero Trash assembly at El Morro School

Perseverance nets results

He started small. “I organized my street in 2007 to do a clean up. Then I spent a lot of time talking to businesses and asking them to be a ‘street front supporter.’“ Then he did what many thought could not be done – he got the city and Waste Management on board. “Without Toni (Iseman) I wouldn’t have gotten this done.” The “this” he is referring to is additional trashcans and ashtrays all over town. Iseman also introduced him to Michele Clark at Waste Management who helped him get sponsored allowing him to buy things like banners to promote Zero Trash.

Building a sense of community through trash

“If it weren’t for a few great people, Elyse and Julie Shahan, Katie Ford and Robert Wolfshagen who owns Screenworks and gives me my shirts at a reduced rate – he’s huge! – I couldn’t do it,” says McDermott. “A lot of this, for me, is about community. I get to hang out with my neighbors and help out. We don’t really get the chance to do that anymore. I needed that.”

Other communities have embraced his idea, as well. There are currently Zero Trash chapters in Aliso Viejo, Dana Point and Rancho Santa Margarita. Many other chapters have opened – and closed, a testament to how hard something like this is to sustain and McDermott’s fierce determination to the cause. “There are a lot of good intentions, but it’s hard to maintain,” explains McDermott sympathetically.

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Cigarette butts account for a lot of the trash on our streets

Retailers offer supplies and discounts

So if you’re finding yourself wanting to experience a sense of community or just want to do a job that needs to be done, you can show up on the first Saturday of every month (the next one is Saturday, Feb 7), grab a picker and get to work. Most people are familiar with the El Ranchito location because that’s the one where McDermott sets up and hands out the t-shirts. However, there are four other locations: Hobie, Thalia Surf Shop, Laguna Beach High School (it’s an on-campus club founded by his niece back in 2009, but still going strong) and United Studios of Self- Defense. The retailers, in addition to handing out pickers and other trash pick-up supplies, offer discounts on merchandise if you pick up from their stores. “If you go to a location and need supplies let me know,” says McDermott.

The best way to reach him is via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Seven years, 52 Saturdays…and counting

“I have a huge passion for this. I don’t really know why. When I started it my kids were five and four. My wife has been awesome. She understands its importance to me so I can be there most Saturdays, even now,” he says thoughtfully. “The biggest misnomer is that it’s a beach clean up,” he explains. The idea is to get the trash off the streets before it hits the beach. “People tell me they’ve seen an improvement, big time, around town,” he says hopefully. Seeing the difference his efforts make undoubtedly makes it easier for McDermott to keep showing up, but seven years, 52 Saturdays…that’s almost a year’s worth of days given to the cause.

Hallie Jones loves to read. In fact, she was an English literature major at UCLA, with a minor in creative writing. Knowing this, I mentally stage her life as a drama, set in a bucolic green meadow, long auburn curls flying in the wind as she rides an impatient mare up to the top of the ridge.

It was kind of like that.

When Hallie grew up in Laguna Beach, it was a different sort of place than it is today. It was a rural scene, and she did ride her horse through Laguna Canyon, perhaps singing the words, “Don’t fence me in…”

“We rode horses on Castle Rock Road,” she said. “It was my first experience of open space.” That was before the term “open space” needed to be clarified, for the undeveloped greenbelt around Laguna. Back then she even once saw a mountain lion in the Canyon.

Today, Hallie Jones is the champion for keeping the Canyon as pristine as possible. She has been the Executive Director of the Laguna Canyon Foundation (LCF) for a year now, and that makes her one happy camper. “Being able to take that passion and turn it into a career is a huge gift for me,” she said.

One part is her knowledge and love of Laguna’s wild spaces, and the other part is the sense of community. Interviewing for the LCF position was truly a homecoming.

“I know a lot of these people. Coming into a community so dedicated to doing good, it was the best coming home,” she said. “I walked into that office, and I thought, ‘this is it. I’m never going to leave!’”

East Coast / West Coast

The intervening years took Hallie from bucolic Laguna Canyon, to finishing high school in Washington, DC, then to UCLA, followed by her first career move; the beginnings of a life dedicated to the environment – working with Heal the Bay.

As far as leaving Laguna for Washington, Hallie was a bit of a fish out of water. “We moved the summer before senior year of high school,” she remembers. “I showed up with crazy hair and Birkenstocks.”

It was an important experience because she had the chance to encounter ‘urban sophistication’. “But it was also isolating,” she continued. “After Laguna and knowing other kids my whole life, I had to stand on my own two feet.”

Those Birkenstock clad feet returned to the sunshine shores for college, and then she prepared for a career in the world of advertising. It was not to be. She was 22 and not so much interested in that type of corporate world.

“I was into conservation,” she said. “Working with like-minded people toward a thing we could all agree on… I loved it.” That was at Heal the Bay, where Hallie and other like-minds collaborated, raised awareness, and took action to protect the health of the Santa Monica Bay.

Arriving Home

Hallie worked at Heal the Bay for 15 years. She lived in Mar Vista, got married and had a child. But Laguna was still in her blood, and her daughter, Emmie, now nine, was also enthralled with fun in Laguna. There’s a whole family here, including Hallie’s parents: her mom, artist Kathy Jones, and her dad, Mike, who teaches woodworking at Cerritos College. Hallie’s sister is raising her kids, and lives in Woods Cove. Hallie’s second child, a son, was born here in Laguna.

Her grandparents started it all when they came to live in Woods Cove.

Now that Hallie is a single mom, it’s very supportive having her family around. Emmie and her brother Kai, a kindergartner, have their cousins and grandparents, and thanks to their mom, they have the nature of the Canyon to play in. Emmie is a nut for horses too.

“My whole family is here. And my kids are going to the same school I went to [Top of the World],” she said. “One of the many things that is so satisfying about living here is really being a part of a community, and giving back.”

It seems like destiny, or the climax of her life’s novel that Hallie would be reunited with family and friends at home, while earning her dream job.

Laguna Canyon Foundation

“I have a deep connection to the land,” Hallie says in somewhat of an understatement. “I try to get out in the open space every day. It reminds me of what’s important, why we’re so lucky to live here.”

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The first year’s learning curve at Laguna Canyon Foundation included getting to know who is working on what. “I made sure to know all the players,” Hallie says. “Now I can stop and think, ‘this is the direction we want to go’.”

It’s leadership and communication that keep the organization working and thriving. And it’s staff and volunteers who keep the 40 miles of Laguna Coast Wilderness trails cleared and healthy.

“I’m a communicator,” says Hallie. “A people person. I like connecting people to the land.” The LCF office is in the Legion Hall, but Hallie is often at the Nix Nature Center, or out on the trails.

One of the important things she is busy with is educational outreach, and there are two groups vital to that message: those that use the trails, and those who never have.

Hikers and mountain bikers are very connected to the beauty of the trail system, but often are not aware what impact their activities have on the natural habitat, or how they can help. LCF sponsors “Trail Work Days” so that these types can get in there and lend a volunteer hand. LCF volunteers help with trail restoration and removal of invasive species of plants.

“It’s great for mountain bikers to see the work that goes into maintaining the trails, and the threats to it,” Hallie says.

Unauthorized trails are a huge problem, and require frequent and extensive repairs.

The other groups LCF helps to educate are young people, especially those from Title One schools, such as the Santa Ana district. They provide a free educational program, and LCF pays for all the bussing. Schools of second, third, and fourth-graders come for the morning for field trips, games, and lunch. The purpose is to establish familiarity and also a sense of stewardship for open spaces.

“It’s a wonderful program,” said Hallie. “Some of these kids have never been hiking, never known environmental ethic. They’ll say, ‘Are there bears here?’ It’s a new experience for them. It’s this incredible resource.”

Restoring passion, restoring nature

Hallie Jones is a creature of the earth. When she’s not walking on the trails, or at LCF raising much-needed funds to save them, she’s camping with her family in the Sierras or down to Baja to see the whales. She is at home in the wild places.

Here in the Canyon there will soon be another trail opened, the “Lizard Trail”, a great point to look for Hallie’s favorite Canyon animal – the tarantula. We may not be lucky enough to see one, but they leave a distinctive footprint to look for. And though there have been no mountain lion sightings for many years, our gem of wilderness is home to many species, including bobcat, coyotes, fox, bats, and, especially this time of year, lots of nice, cool green.

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“When I was a kid, Laguna was artists and hippies, and that has changed to a certain extent,” said Hallie. “I think this town runs the risk of losing sight of its environmental heritage.

“I like inspiring people to feel as passionate about this land as they did in 1990 to save and preserve it. I want my generation to feel that sense of ownership. They don’t know how hard we fought to save the Canyon then. It’s still under threat today. People need to understand and be aware of that.”

Her love of nature, born as a child in Laguna Canyon, and nurtured in the bays and by-ways is being passed on to the next generation. It’s a cycle of appreciation and remembrance from whence we came.

Jenny Salberg: Energy, balance and middle school

By SAMANTHA WASHER

Photos by Mary Hurlbut

“I couldn’t ask for anything more. I wouldn’t change anything. I’m still challenged. I get up early and can’t wait to get to work.”

When you can say this about your job after over 20 years, you know you are in the right line of work. The fact that your work is dealing with the trickiest of all age groups – middle schoolers – means you aren’t wired like the rest of us. Jenny Salberg, Thurston Middle School’s principal, really believes she has the greatest job in the world. She’s so passionate about it; in fact, she had me thinking she had the greatest job in the world. That’s some serious conviction.

Balance as life’s “white whale”

However, despite her dedication and commitment to her job of running one of the top rated middle school’s in the OC (Voted Best Middle School by the OC Register in 2013), Salberg has her “other” life, away from Thurston, that she shares with her husband and three children who she is even more devoted to than her job (which is saying something). However, the demands of both work and family create a constant dilemma familiar to all working parents: the struggle to find balance.

“It’s the white whale I can never seem to achieve,” explains Salberg. “It’s the only time I really get in my own head, when I start thinking about if I’m doing enough everywhere, but I’m married to an amazing man who has supported me the whole way.”

Jenny Salberg, Principal, Thurston Middle School, Laguna Beach

Trying – and failing – to fight her calling

When Salberg started out, education is not where she thought she would have landed. The daughter of two educators, Salberg told herself, “No way. I’m not going to do it.” But as luck would have it, a teaching job became available at Covina High School so she took it. “I taught three periods and would go home and take a nap. My husband, who was a sheriff at the time, would come home and say, ‘What are you doing?!’ So he got his certificate to substitute teach, and went into the classroom for one day. He came home and said, ‘Never again!’ It was the best thing that ever happened!” laughs Salberg. “Education probably was my calling. I just tried to fight it. I used to spend so much time in my classrooms. I loved it!”

Salberg taught at Covina High for six years before she interviewed for an assistant principal position at Laguna Beach High School. “I did that for four years and I knew I loved it. You never know what the day will bring,” she says. Then she moved to Thurston Middle School (TMS) where she has been for the past 11 years, first as assistant principal then finally getting the top job in 2011. “I still remember my first year at Thurston. The kids are so different than at the high school. I thought I was only (interested in) high school, but there’s an innocence at the middle school level. They’re not as independent, and I love that.”

If middle schoolers aren’t quite as self-reliant as high schoolers, Salberg says one of the benefits of her working full time is that her kids have learned to become very independent. Her oldest daughter, a senior at an Irvine High School, applied to college all on her own, for example. “Because I’ve always worked my kids are all very independent,” she says.

But wait, Irvine schools? Why not Laguna schools? “I wanted them to have their own identity. I think that’s very important, although my youngest still asks to come here,” explains Salberg.

The symbiotic relationship of home and work

She feels confident about that decision, but Salberg, like all parents, often wonders what the “right” thing to do is with her own kids.

“It’s hard as a parent to know that what you’re doing is right. How do you know when your kid turns out OK? When they graduate from high school? College? When they get a job? Is there ever that validation?” But there is a symbiosis between parenting three kids and being a principal. “I can use lessons from school at home. I am current on every topic and a little piece of everything here comes home with me.”

Bringing her work home with her has its benefits and, of course, a few drawbacks. “It becomes a certain kind of energy – fast paced, need to be in the know -- that you get addicted to. It’s a hard thing to let go of; it’s hard to turn off. Sometimes my husband will say, ‘OK…you’re not at school.” I try to go to the gym on my way home. That saves me. Not everything is a level 10 fire,” laughs Salberg.

Principal Salberg in her office with staff members, Brad Rush and Jennifer Rush

Working to improve the educational experience for all students

When she is at school, this energy serves her well. There is a lot going on at the middle school. From implementing what the district has termed 4CLE classrooms that seek to create a “classroom environment centered on collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity” to revamping academic support classes, Salberg says she is always looking to improve the educational experience of her students.

“I’ve got incredible teachers pushing themselves. Things look completely different today, and that’s not easy. It can be uncomfortable, but it’s inspiring,” she says.

The entrance at Thurston Middle School

Uncomfortable and inspiring could also be used to describe the middle school years. The kids aren’t “little kids” anymore, but they’re not quite ready for the responsibility that comes with high school. That transition can be tricky, but also exciting. “I want everybody to have good memories from Thurston,” explains Salberg. “It’s such a make or break time.”

Striving to not only achieve, but also to improve upon that experience, is a task not for the faint of heart – which is why Jenny Salberg is such a great fit. Listening to her enthusiastically detail the many things going on at Thurston almost – almost – made me want to go back to middle school (and who ever thinks that?!).

“I love this community. You can have an idea here and actually make it happen,” says Salberg.

Lucky for us, Salberg has a lot of ideas – which means a lot is happening at Thurston Middle School.

Arnold Hano and his infectious zest for life

By MAGGI HENRIKSON

Photos by Mary Hurlbut

He’s just about to celebrate his 93rd birthday. His step may not be as lively as it once was, but his mind is sharp as a tack, and he manages a perfect twinkle in his eyes. That’s Arnold Hano, a Laguna Beach mover and shaker still.

We met over a nice healthy salad, and later in his comfortable home library and talked about old times, his passion for politics (and love of Michele Obama), changes in Laguna, and baseball. Those subjects may not be ranked in order but they are each a deep a part of his persona.

Arnold Hano

Born in New York, he was a kid raised across the street from the Polo Grounds, where he lived and breathed baseball. He managed a day job as a copy boy at the New York Daily News, and then served in the Army during World War II. After the war he returned to New York, and pursued a career in publishing.

While editor-in-chief with Lion Books, Hano edited novelists including his favorite author, Jim Thompson. One day he was presented a rare opportunity: a novel (science fiction) written by Leonardo da Vinci. A colleague offered it to him for publishing, “But it’s not very good,” the guy told him. Hano laughed, “That’s like saying, ‘I have a talking dog, but he doesn’t have a good French accent’.”

Covering all the bases

A Giants fan since the age of four, Hano launched his own writing career on one of the most eventful days in his life: Game One of the 1954 World Series; the New York Giants vs. the Cleveland Indians. His record of the day Willie Mays made ‘The Catch’ (and throw) became his highly acclaimed book, A Day in the Bleachers.

“I was just bantering with a woman in a red hat in the stands; a Dodger fan,” Hano said. The resulting popularity of the book, which is still for sale online, Hano attributes to timing. Until then, stories about baseball were like comics for kids. “I think it’s a nice little book,” Hano says modestly. “It’s a book about fans, and fan-hood. It was just the right time to do an adult baseball book.”

Meanwhile Hano experienced what he refers to as the aftermath of “the Eisenhower economy”. Rather than endure a pay reduction in expensive New York, Hano and his wife Bonnie packed up their one and a half year-old daughter, Laurel, a beagle puppy, eight valises, and headed west.

When they arrived at Bonnie’s mother’s house in Iowa, Hano learned of the hoopla back in New York about his book. Good times and more writing commenced.

As they explored the great stretches of the west, Hano surprised himself by writing a western-themed novel. “I didn’t know anything west of the Hudson River,” he said with his happy twinkle.

By the time they got to Laguna, they’d found home. And home in those days amounted to $85 a month for a cottage on Goff Street.

It Takes a Villager

It didn’t take Hano long to get involved with local politics, and generally living his beliefs by supporting those less fortunate.

“In 1955 the Ocean Avenue cottages and Roosevelt Drive were enclaves for black families. And black men could not get a haircut in Laguna Beach,” he said. When Hano inquired, the barbers told him they’d lose all their white customers if they cut a black person’s hair. So Bonnie and Arnold set out to do what they could. “We found an accommodation law from 1905 and said to the barbers they had to cut their hair.”

The Hanos notified the press and the police, and marched, blacks with whites, into all the barbershops in town followed by full press coverage.

In 1970 it was women’s rights that lit the activist’s fire. The City Council was looking for 16 commissioners, and Hano attended the meeting. “There were sixteen men there, and I stood up and said, ‘Aren’t there any women who could do this?’ A woman showed up the next day.”

Today Hano is concerned for the homeless. “Those people deserve to have a toilet. They deserve supportive housing,” he says. “If I was on the Council, I’d say to [City Manager John] Pietig, ‘Find us a place!’” Hano has served on the board of the Laguna Relief and Resource Center, assisting the homeless community.

His personal interest in politics resulted in one run for City Council. Alas, as he says, “The other guy got more votes.”

Hano’s voice has been heard throughout town since those early days. In addition to writing more than 30 books, including biographies of Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax and Roberto Clemente, he has authored hundreds of newspaper articles. The collection of articles he wrote for the Laguna Beach Post has been compiled into a book, titled It Takes a Villager.

He is Mr. Villager, if ever there was one. Hano adores the human scale and village atmosphere of small-town Laguna. Both Hanos have been named Villagers of the Year by the community organization, Village Laguna.

Design Review

It all started with a shock in the Canyon.

One day as he was driving through Laguna Canyon Hano was stunned to see giant billboards advertising Leisure World. “It staggered me,” he said. “There were two – forty feet long and ten feet wide.” He called a councilwoman who told him there was nothing to be done about it. It was even zoned for cemetery use. “So I wrote a column about it, and the next day they came down,” he said. “I realized, oh wow, there’s power in this!”

He was also instrumental in preserving a couple of buildings that have become Laguna icons. One is what is now the orthodontist’s building on Glenneyre (Dr. DiGiovanni), and the other is what is now Royal Thai. Both buildings had been behind the Wells Fargo building on Ocean Avenue. At the time, the Federal Savings and Loans had permits to destroy them. It was thought that they were falling down. Hano went inside and discovered just the opposite, so he searched for a way to save them.

“I went to the Coastal Commission and argued that they should be saved,” he said. “They said to move them, so I found people who would take them for free, and pay the $5,000 to move them. There were a couple of lots available. It was easy to move them!”

Preservation and village atmosphere fall under the grander scheme of Design Review, that all important commission that Hano supports in full force. Along with architect Chris Abel, and realtor Milt Hanson, Hano took on the giant task of keeping the “giant” out of Laguna. Their main issue was building height restrictions. “From Broadway to Bluebird, there would have been ten-story buildings,” he said. The successful result came about with partnering help from Village Laguna and the 3700 residents who voted in favor of the citywide height limit. Buildings in Laguna are now restricted to a 36 foot height maximum.

Hano believes in Design Review, regardless of contentious project issues. “I think it’s wonderful no matter how much animosity. You always make a friend and an enemy,” he said. “But Laguna Beach is best served when it’s kept to a modest, human scale.”

The next pesky issue for Hano is the undergrounding of utility lines citywide. Trees in danger of falling on electric lines, power outages resulting from damaged poles – all discussion would be moot, if Hano had his way. “Chop that tree down? No. Bury the pole!”

Who likes adventure?

Bonnie and Arnold Hano jumped in with both feet when they signed up for the Peace Corps at a time when most people are thinking about retiring to a hammock somewhere. They love to travel, but the Peace Corps is a whole different travel animal.

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Bonnie and Arnold Hano

It was 1991, and they had taken a trip to Costa Rica where they got to spend some time talking with the Peace Corps director there. Sure enough, they signed up and were selected for Costa Rica. They spent two years plus three months for training; a time that forever changed their lives.

“We were in a town of 800 people,” says Hano. “There was one car in the whole town. There was a grade school that was falling apart. It was thirty years of neglect and earthquake damage.”

The Hanos begged and borrowed to raise money from friends, and set about to fix everything they could with the help of the villagers. It was a joyful community. “They turn everything into a good time,” said Hano.

It was such a rewarding experience, and a sense of belonging that the Hanos built themselves a house in the same village once their Peace Corps stint was done. They returned to Laguna but continued to visit their Costa Rica home away from home, off and on, for another five years.

Hano’s favorite places they’ve visited around the globe include Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, China, Alaska, and Rhine and Mosel River cruises. Part of that has to do with beer.

“I discovered all the beers of the world, “ says Hano. “I miss that.” He’s not “allowed” to drink anymore, but has fond memories. “I think beer is a very noble drink.” Twinkle in eye again!

Arnold Hano may not partake of the noble beer any longer, but he’s still high on life. I’m sure he’ll be walking circles around most of us as he carries his zest for life, and nurturing care for Laguna forward into the future.

Jeff LaTendresse: our Laguna Beach Fire Chief

By SAMANTHA WASHER

Photos by Mary Hurlbut

Wanting to be a fireman is a pretty ubiquitous idea for young boys. For Laguna Beach Fire Chief, Jeff LaTendresse, it was obviously more than a childish musing.

As a 17-year-old North High in Torrance student, “I was coming home from a football game with my neighbor. He told me about his job as a firefighter. After that, I started taking EMT classes while still in high school; I was a Fire Explorer; I did a year of fire science classes in college. My post advisor was a fire fighter in the Air Force so I enlisted with a guaranteed job as a firefighter. I knew I didn’t want to sit behind a desk,” explains LaTendresse.

As he says this, he smiles because as we’re talking he is, indeed, sitting behind a very big, very full desk. “Although, obviously that’s what I’m doing right now,” he says in his mildly ironic way.

Jeff LaTendresse, Laguna Beach Fire Chief

From Cathedral City to Laguna Beach

If LaTendresse finds himself sitting behind a desk more often these days, it is because being Chief is much more administrative than being a firefighter, or even a Battalion Chief. When we met he was in the midst of compiling the budget for the Fire Department, which can only be, I’m assuming, a very time-consuming task. Yet, becoming Chief was a goal of his when he started.

“I remember writing out what I wanted to be, my goals, and I checked that box,” he says. So it made sense when, in 1997, while in Cathedral City in Riverside County, he decided to apply for the job as Laguna Beach Captain when the position became available. When he got the job, “I had to make the very difficult decision on whether to transplant here or not. It was a difficult decision, but a good decision,” he says, again with his gentle irony.

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Chief LaTendresse watches one of his engines at stationone

In Laguna Beach, there’s always something

Arriving in 1997 means LaTendresse missed Laguna’s epic fire of 1993, but he has dealt with his share of disasters, nevertheless – this is Laguna, after all – from floods to the Bluebird Canyon landslide.

“In 2005, the Bluebird Canyon landslide is something I’ll never forget,” says LaTendresse. “I was one of the first on the scene and it was like a disaster movie out of Hollywood: no street, houses teetering, broken water lines. We ended up saving two people that day.” He says this in his matter-of-fact way, but it’s obvious that despite his desk duties, saving people is still part of his job that he relishes.

“This job is everything I thought it would be. It becomes more administrative the higher up you go, but it still has the same attraction for me as it did when I was 17,” he said.

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His LBFD fire helmets lined up

Like father, like son

The attraction is, apparently, genetic. LaTendresse’s son is also on the path to becoming a firefighter. “My son is in the Army, about to graduate from medic school. He hopes to get more experience in that area because more of what we do is actually medic related than fire related,” says LaTendresse. Despite LaTendresse’s understated manner, one could not ignore his pride in his son’s choice. LaTendresse also has a 24 year-old daughter who lives and works close by to his wife and him. Both children grew up in Laguna and went through the schools here.

“We need more rain.”

For LaTendresse, leaving Cathedral City wasn’t a very tough choice. One reason is that he got the job he’d wanted. A second is pretty obvious: Laguna is a great place to live. But there is a third reason he lives close to his work: “The city wants the Fire Chief and the Police Chief to live in town due to the geographic isolation of Laguna. With only three ways in and out, if something were to happen there would at least be some emergency leadership here,” he explains.

Despite the many safety measures enacted since the ’93 fire, LaTendresse says the fire department is always on alert. “We still have the potential of a catastrophic fire,” he says. I thought perhaps the recent rains might have eased his worries, a bit. When I ask him that he replies simply, “We need more rain.”

When you’re Fire Chief of Laguna Beach, it seems you’re never not worrying about something.

Fuel Modification Zones are no simple task

To combat some of these worries, the fire department has been developing fuel modification zones. At Nyes Place and Oro Canyon, for example, the goal is to take a 100-foot section of brush and reduce it by 50% so there is less fuel in case of fire. From a fire safety perspective it’s a no-brainer.

However, according to LaTendresse, it’s a very tricky process because other things besides fire safety must be taken into account. “We have to do a lot of different studies: biology studies, environmental studies, etc., that are an expensive and labor intensive process so that we do this properly. There is an impact on the environment and we want to make sure we are doing it right. I think we will ultimately be successful, but it has been an incredible process to get this moving,” he explains.

A more visible fire abatement strategy is the use of goats to clear hillsides of potential fire-feeding brush. “Hand crews are extremely expensive. Goats are the most cost-effective method, but they eat everything. We have to watch that for a few reasons, like erosion.” When it comes to fire management nothing, it seems, is easy.

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Fire Station One, 501 Forest Avenue

Have you checked your smoke detectors?

Like being fire chief. It’s just not the kind of job you leave at work. LaTendresse always has his radio with him – always, unless he is away on vacation. But even then he’s prepared. “When I fly I always wear a long sleeved shirt and sturdy shoes so I can take care of myself and others in case of an emergency. I try to instill the safety precautions we preach in myself,” he says.

Which leads to his suggestions as to what we can all do to better prepare ourselves and our homes in case of fire. “Make sure your smoke detectors are working, if they are battery operated make sure the batteries are fresh; check your landscaping, make sure it’s cleared away from the house and there is nothing overhanging. If there is a disaster and we ask for you to evacuate, please evacuate so we aren’t putting our firefighters at unnecessary risk.”

We’ve all heard these suggestions before, but when you hear them from the Chief…let’s just say I went home and double-checked my smoke detectors.

Elizabeth Pearson: who is this Elizabeth person?

By MAGGI HENRIKSON

Photos by Mary Hurlbut

You’ve known her for many years as our City Council person, and as Mayor of this fair city. But now she’s relatively footloose and fancy free.

Elizabeth Pearson served her last day in Council Chambers on December 2nd. Then she walked across the street to The Lumberyard for a farewell party – and her new life.

“It was very stressful,” she says of her time as a public servant. “But I made the commitment, and I stick to my word.”

That she did. During her 12 years serving on the council, including three terms as mayor, Pearson worked tirelessly during Laguna’s good times and bad. Amongst her many achievements, she was there to help the city recover from landslides and mudslides, and she was there as a strong advocate for business and for the arts.

Elizabeth Pearson

The next chapter features her emphasis on arts; currently she is chief executive and president of Pacific Chorale, the resident choir of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Additionally she lends support to the Laguna Playhouse, serves on the board of Laguna Beach Live and the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, and she’s been appointed to the boards of California Arts Advocates, California for the Arts, and Arts OC. That’s a lot of boards! So, this being Laguna, I asked her if she surfs – that would give her another kind of “board”.

“No, but I like going to the beach for picnics,” she says. “And I love early evening picnics at the Festival of Arts for their summer jazz.” Of course she does! She actually attended 18 jazz concerts last summer.

A self-made woman

How did all this art appreciation begin? Pearson puts the blame squarely on Cleveland, another city of importance in her life.

Her roots go back to North Carolina, where most of her family still resides, but in between coasts, she lived and worked in Cleveland. And the arts are big in Cleveland. “All the arts,” Pearson said. “It was the thing to do.”

Her best friend was Chairman of the Board of the Cleveland Orchestra, so she went to a lot of concerts, and became a big fan of opera as well.

While in Cleveland, Pearson went back to school to finish her degree. Her major was in marketing, but her minor was in another art – British Literature. “I’ve read almost all of Shakespeare. I started with Henry IV, Part One, and fell in love with it,” she says. “And I love poetry. Wordsworth is my favorite.”

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From small town, North Carolina, Elizabeth Pearson has grabbed ahold of all the knowledge and learning she can, and run with it. She’s even studying music herself now, with piano lessons and music theory. “It’s something I can do for myself – post Council,” she says.

Her family all enjoy music. A few even perform at the Grand Old Opry. Back at the cattle ranch in North Carolina, they get together at holidays and all join in playing bluegrass, in a boisterous big family way. Pearson contributes her voice too, but she mostly feeds the family with her time-honored recipes for good Southern comfort foods like chicken and dumplings, turnip greens, biscuits and gravy, and her favorite, Southern banana pudding pie.

Pearson’s dad was a DJ for the Armed Services network. He instilled in his daughter his big love of jazz, and gave her the confidence to cook for 30 people at Thanksgiving. No big deal. “We’re used to cooking for armies,” she laughs.

What’s new

Meanwhile the Pacific Chorale is benefitting from Pearson’s passion for music, and marketing. She’s enthusiastic about the origins, “Classical choral music is an art form from Ancient Greece. The first documented music originated with the Catholic Church in Rome”, the sounds, “Absolutely beautiful!”, and their programming, “We have a concert coming up in March called ‘Let’s Dance’ that includes Norwegian choral, Navajo dance, jazz pianists, and the music of Aaron Copland. We’re trying fun, new things.”

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The Pacific Chorale tours internationally every couple of years. Pearson will be traveling to Budapest and Vienna with them this year, thus combining two of her favorite things: music and travel.

“I love to travel,” she says. “I’d like to spend more time in Southern Europe. I love the history, and the art. I usually go to concerts.” Of course she does!

She is one busy woman, though she feels a little less so without the City Council on her agenda. “One great thing about being off the Council is I only go out three nights a week now, not six,” she says. And then she has her special day that’s off limits to anyone else.

“I call it Sacred Sundays,” she says. “Or Sacred Pajama Day when it rains.”

Everyone needs some “me” time, but all the more so when you are a public person, and one with a full calendar such as Elizabeth Pearson. She takes Sundays to read, take walks… a day not to be “on”, not get dressed up, …don’t go to events. Her friends know not to call her on a Sunday, “Unless it’s for fun!”

Yes, she’s a busy, active, and very socially committed person who has done more than her share in service to the community.